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Category Archives: Cemetery

The Fallen Soldiers of Mackinac Island

Posted on May 19, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

mackinaw island post cemetery

The Post Cemetery is one of only four National Cemeteries with the honor of permanently flying the American flag at half mast. The cemetery is the final resting place for Fort Mackinac soldiers, their families, and local officials. The small cemetery on Mackinac Island is surrounded by a white picket fence with a wooden archway, and  had a canon from Fort Sumter South Carolina on display. Of the approximately 108 burials in Fort Mackinac Post Cemetery, 69 are unknown,. The origin of the cemetery is lost to poor record keeping in the early 1800’s but local lore from the nineteenth century suggests that both American and British War of 1812 soldiers are buried here. Many early burials were marked with simple wooden crosses that have long since decayed and disappeared. As a result many of the burials are unknown.

Among the burials is German-born Civil war veteran Ignatius Goldhofer who came to Fort Mackinac in 1896 with a variety of ailments and old wounds. When he died three years later his wife and four children buried him in the Post Cemetery.

Civilian Interments include Edward Biddle who served the community as sheriff, village president and surveyor in the mid nineteenth century. In the 1880’s Lieutenant Calvin Cowles and his wife Mary buried their infant children Josiah and Isabel next to each other in the shaded northeast corner of the cemetery.

P.S. The others Cemeteries that fly the flag at half mast are: the National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific (the Punchbowl) in Honolulu, Hawaii, Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, and National Cemetery at Gettysburg in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

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Chief Noonday

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, people .

In a rural area between Plainwell and Battle Creek is the grave site for Chief Noonday. Marked by a simple wooden sign a a stone marker next to a farm field the great Indian Chief Noahquageshik ( known as Chief Noonday by europeans ) is laid to rest.

During the War of 1812, Noahquageshik was allied with the Shawnee chief and warrior Tecumseh during the Battle of the Thames. Tecumseh was killed in this battle, and Noahquageshik inherited his tomahawk and hat.

In 1836, after an especially harsh winter and a year-long outbreak of smallpox, Cheif Noonday signed the treaty, in which the Ottawa agreed to sell the Grand River lands to the United States in exchange for five-year reservations in west and northwest Michigan.

Noahquageshik died in 1855, and he was laid to rest in this spot in southwestern Michigan.

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Boot Hill Cemetery

Posted on April 6, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, upper peninsula .

South of the town of Seney in the Upper Peninsula is the old Boot Hill Cemetery. Most of the graves are marked with simple wooden crosses. They do not give names or dates only a reminder that someone is laid to rest in the old cemetery. They are early Yoopers that worked and lived around Seney long before trucks and snowmobiles. I can’t imagine how challenging life was for them a few centuries ago.

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The Oldest Cemetery

Posted on March 28, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, upper peninsula .

Many visitors come into the Upper Peninsula by crossing the Mackinac Bridge then turn left and head west down US-2 for the western part of the U.P. I wonder how many travelers notice the cemetery a few miles west of St Ignace. The Gros Cap cemetery is one of the oldest contiguously operating cemeteries in the nation.

In the 1600s, a large group of Ottawa Indians settled in the area and established a burial ground which is now part of the present day cemetery. Over the centuries both Native Americans and European settlers have been laid to rest in the cemetery. A wide variety of headstones and grave markers can be seen in this pretty little graveyard. From wooden crosses to modern granite marks it spans a lot of history. I wonder how many people just pass on by without knowing the history of this cemetery.

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A Memorial to Michigan’s K9 Heroes

Posted on March 13, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

Michigan war dog memorial

March 13th, is K9 Veteran’s Day. It was on March 13, 1942, that the Army began training for its new War Dog Program, also known as the “K-9 Corps,” It was the first time that dogs were officially a part of the U.S. Armed Forces. Thank you to all the working dogs and their handlers for their service and dedication.

At the corner of Milford Rd and 11 Mile Near South Lyon is the Michigan War Dog Memorial.  The site was set up by the Elkow family in 1936 and known as “Happy Hunting Grounds Pet Cemetery.” In  1946 when the news of how many lives were saved by War Dogs during WWII  local residents raised money to install a monument to show their respect to the heroic K-9’s. Present At dedication of the 16-ton granite monument was a doberman pinscher named Sargent Sparks, a Marine Corps  scout and messenger dog that carried messages and medical supplies at  Guadalcanal and Okinawa. A year after the dedication, someone poisoned Sgt. Sparks near his Rochester home.  His master requested that he be buried wrapped only in a blanket, like so many of his buddies at the beaches. he was laid to rest at the base of the monument.

Probably the most famous dog buried at the cemetery is “Blizzard,” one of Admiral Byrd’s lead sled dogs.  He was at the Chicago Worlds Fair and was sold to people who lived in Windsor. When Blizzard died in 1937 at 12 years of age, he was buried at the cemetery.  Along with Blizzard, is a parrot that was on Admiral Dewey’s flagship that was owned by the city of Detroit when he died at 86 years. (Parrots can live to be 150 years old)

war dog admiral byrd blizzard

The Final Resting Place for Admiral Byrd’s sled dog “Blizzard”

If a military working dog is killed in action or at home base, there is a memorial and burial with honors; however, if the Veterinary Corps retires a military working dog, and it is adopted out and dies the Michigan War Dog Memorial and Cemetery is a place for a heroic K-9 to be laid to rest at no cost to the handler/owner. There have been several dogs who served from all wars since 1936 that have been laid to rest along with police K-9s and other loyal working dogs.

you can find out more about the Memorial and Cemetery at their website HERE

 

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The Cemetery Gate

Posted on February 21, 2022 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

This castle-like gate is at the entrance to Elm Lawn Cemetery in Bay City. It was built in the 1890s at a time when cemeteries were built to be more of a park like setting and people would come a relax while spending time visiting deceased relatives and loved ones. Several of Bay City’s early prominent residents are laid to rest at Elm Lawn including several lumber barons and a few U.S. Congressmen.

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Mt Avon Cemetery

Posted on November 20, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

A few blocks from downtown Rochester is the historic Mount Avon Cemetery. A historical marker gives a little info and reads:

In 1826, Mount Avon became the first officially platted cemetery in Oakland County. The “Old Ground” or “Historic Acre” contains head-stones dating from 1817, the year the earliest settlers arrived in the area. Members of the Graham family, Rochester’s founders, are buried in Mount Avon, including James Graham (1818-1839), thought to be the first white child born in the county. In 1911 a statue of “Billy Yank” was erected in memory of Oakland County’s Civil War veterans.

While I was there taking photos I realized I was not alone.

A mother dear and her offspring were quietly eating among the headstones. Some of the old cemeteries were meant to be a parklike setting and it seems as if the deer find enjoyment in this historic graveyard.

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The Spirit Houses

Posted on November 18, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, upper peninsula .

Northwest of Brimley along the Lake Superior shoreline is Bay Mills. The area is home to the Bay Mills Indian tribe. Along the road is an old Indian Cemetery and according to the sign in the back it was established in 1841. The graves are covered with wooden spirit houses. The wooden houses are built to protect the body as the soul passes to the spirit world. Many times relatives would leave food and tools for the deceased loved one to use as they travel to the spirit world.

The cemetery is not open to the public but it is next to the road. I took this pic from the fence. Sometimes I will see spirit houses in other cemeteries, especially in northern Michigan. Next time you are out exploring the mitten state and you see an old cemetery with wooden houses now you will know what they are if you didn’t already.

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Bell Cemetery

Posted on November 12, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery, Ghost towns .

The old Bell Cemetery is in the Besser Natural Area north of Alpena. The old cemetery is the eternal home of some of the residents of the ghost town of Bell. I am not sure what year the last burial took place but I am thinking it was a while ago. The sign above the entrance reads that the cemetery was restored in 1989 by the Presque Isle Lions.

The thing that I found interesting is that the crosses and headstones are cast out of concrete. It is not surprising that concrete was used because the area is one of the largest producers of cement. I wonder if the crosses and headstones were cast and placed during the 1989 restoration. It took me a while to find this unique cemetery but If you want to find it the cemetery is located almost directly west of the parking lot down a two-track trail. If you want to know more about the ghost town of Bell check out my post HERE.

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Brundage Wilderness Cemetery

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Mike Sonnenberg Posted in Cemetery .

Brundage Wilderness Cemetery is located between Interlochen and Honor in ( you guessed it ) the wilderness. It sits along Brundage Creek and from what I could see the oldest tombstone is for Emeline Brundage who died in 1874. Many of her relatives are also buried in the old part of the cemetery so I assume that is where the cemetery and creek get their name from.  It is a rather secluded cemetery but there are some recent burials. I always thought it was a little strange that I find these old cemeteries interesting but I have learned a lot of you out there in internet land like these old cemeteries also. If you are ever near the base of the Leelanau Peninsula be sure to visit this wilderness cemetery off N. Carmean Road.

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